Combine



COMBINE 3 Sheets-Sheet l A. w. OEHLER ET AL Filed Jan. 29, 1940 Aug. 11,1942-.

INVENTOR: ALV/IV W. OEHLER 8 HJALAR 0. THOMPSON BY 14 W ATTORNEYS.-

Aug. 11, 1 942.

A. w. OEHLER ET AL COMBINE Filed Jan. 29, 1940 s Sheets-Shet 2 INVENTOR;ALV/IV W OEHLER 8 A TTORNEYS.

Aug. 11,1942. w, L R 2,292,650

.COMBINE Filed Jan. 29, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 av m R R an INVENTOR-ALVIN n. OE'HLER ATTORNEYS.

' mama Aug. '11, 1942 'UNITEDYSTATESV PATENT OFFIC Alvin w. Oehlerlnd'malmfllc. Thompson,

Moline, 111., assignors to Deere & Company, I Moline, 111., acorporation of Illinois Application January 29, 1940', Serial No.316,129

'1 Claims. (01. ism-27) The present invention relates generally to grainseparating and cleaning mechanism, andmore particularly to mechanism ofthis kindas applied to harvester threshers of the so-called straightthrough type, in which the harvester platform extends forwardly and .isinclined downwardly from the threshing cylinder to the cutter bar at thelower forward end thereof, the latterbeing since it permits the straw tobe distributed loosely in a thin layer over a large surface and thusreleases the kernels of grain more readily. However, the width of theseparating shoe, for maximum .efllciency, is limited by the length ofthe 4 fan, the dimensionsof which are comparatively inflexible for agiven capacity. vA long fan of small diameter does not deliver an airblast of uniform flow throughout its length, inasmuch.

as the intake air does not readily travel to the center of the fan,therefore the grain cleaning shoe is usually made narrower than thestraw separator in order to obtain maximum efiiciency and is positionedunderneath the straw separator in this type of combine. In thosecombines having a width of six feet or less, which are the sizes mostcommon in the present day market, the sides of the'thresher housing areinclined downwardly and inwardly from the straw separator to thecleaning shoeand serve to direct the grain and chaff falling from theseparator into the cleaning shoe in a satisfactory manner. Thisexpedient is not as satisfactory, however, in the case of straightthrough combines having a width transverse trough in' which means areprovided for moving the grain and chafi from opposite ends of the troughtoward the center thereof to a discharge opening communicating with thecleaning shoe.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be .described,reference being had to the drawings appended-hereto, inwhich V Figure 1is a side elevation of the threshing and separating equipment taken insection along a line I-l in Figure 3-; I I

Figure 2 is a plan view of the separator housing of the combine shown inFigure 1, the rear portion of the roof being broken away to show thedetails of construction therein; and

Figure 3 is a rear view of the combine taken in section along a line 3-3in Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the combine comprises a threshing andseparating unit 5 having a sheet metal housing 6 supported on a framewheel ID. A conventional draft frame is connected to the axle beam 8, aportion ll of which is shown in Figure 2. The draft'frame extends.forwardly and is connected to a tractor and inasmuch as this type offrame is well known to of eight feet or more, for the reason that thewhich falls through the straw separator into a those skilled in the art,this member -isnot shown completely in detail.

Harvested grain is fed into the forward end of the housing 6 by means ofa harvester platform 15 pivoted to the housing Ii on a transverselyexreel 20 is carried on the platform 15 in the usual manner.

Mounted in the forward "opening of the housing 6 is a conventional uppercanvas 2| for crowding harvested crops into the threshing cylinder 22which cooperates with the concaves 23 to thresh the grain from thestraw. A rotatable beater 24 is disposed behind the threshing ,impart tothe raddle chain 30 .an oscillating movement for agitating the straw.

The grain and chafl which is shaken out of the straw by the agitatingmechanism described above, falls upon a straw rack 35 comprising threedrive chains 36 disposed along opposite sides of the housing and downthe center thereof and trained around a pair of rollers 31, 38 which arerotatably supported on shafts 39, 40, respec- .tively, journaled in theside sheets of the housing 6. A plurality of transversely extendingslats 4| are supported on the chains 36 and are spaced apart to provideopenings for grain and chat! to fall through the. conveyor. A solidfloor 45 is disposed under the straw rack and serves to catch the grainand chaff that fall through the rack. The lower run or lap 45 of theconveyor 35 sweeps forwardly across the floor l and carries with it thegrain and chafi which is discharged into a trough 41 which extendstransversely under the forward end of the conveyor 35, from one side ofthe separator housing to the other coextensive with the width of thestraw rack. 1

A grain cleaner 50 is disposed beneath the straw rack and generallyparallel thereto, and comprises the usual sieves or screens which arereciprocated by conventional mechanism (not shown). The grain cleaner'50is considerably narrower than the straw rack 35 and is disposed in alower housing, the walls 5|, 52 of which are spaced inwardly fromthe-side walls of the housing 6. Although in the preferred embodimentshown and described herein, the grain cleaner housing is disposed withits center line coincident with the center line of the main housing 6,it is within the scope of the present invention to locate the graincleaner in ofiset relation with respect to the center line of thehousing 6.

The trough 41 has an opening 53 along its rear side, preferablycoincidental with the width of the cleaning shoe 50, the opening 53extending downwardly to the bottom of the trough 41 and the edge of thetrough along the lower side of the opening 53 is curled as at 54 (seeFigure 1) to obtain a smooth edge along the opening.

The grain and chaff which is swept into'the trough 41 by the lower lap46 of the straw conveyor 35, is moved from the opposite ends of thetrough 41 to the opening 53 by means of an auger conveyor 55 comprisinga, shaft 56 journaled in the opposite side walls of the housing 6 onwhich is disposed a pair of oppositely wound helical plates 51, 58,respectively. In operation, the auger 55 is rotated in such a directionas to move the grain and chaff toward the opening 53, at which point itis discharged through the opening onto the cleaning shoe 50. It will benoted that the inner ends 59, 60 of the two oppositely wound flights'51, 58, respectively, overlap at the center of the shaft. That is tosay, each of the flights 51, 58 is continued past the center of theshaft a portion of a turn, but terminate before they intersect with theopposite flight. We have found by experience that when the inner ends ofthe two flights are terminated in several other different arrangements,there is a tendency for the straw to wrap around the conveyor shaft 56and cause clogging of the conveyor, but this difilculty has beenovercome by the overlapping arrangement of flights shown in the drawingsappended hereto. I

The grain and chaff discharges through the opening 53' in the troughonto a stepped grain pan 65 fixed to one end of the cleaning shoe andreciprocable therewith. Reciprocating 75 movement of the pan 55 urgesthe grain and chafl. downwardly upon the shoe. The pan 35 extendsforwardly under the trough and slides between the latter and the housing53 of the cleaning fan 31 and thus provides a seal which prevents grainfrom escaping over the forward end of the pan 65.

The grain drops through the screens of the cleaning shoe while the chaffand dust are blown rearwardly by the blast from the blower 8'! and outthrough the rear end of the' housing. The clean grain falls into thegrain trough II which is flxed to the side walls 5|, 52 of the cleaningshoe housing. An auger conveyor 63 at the bottom of the grain trough 58conveys the grain laterally to the grain elevator 13 which conveys thegrain upwardly and discharges it through a spout II into the grainstorage tank 12. The tailings pass over the cleaning shoe 50 and arecaught by the tailings trough 13 at the rear end of the shoe from whichthey are conveyed by a second auger 14 to the tailings elevator 15 whichdelivers them to the cylinder for rethreshing in the usual manner.

We do not intend our invention to be limited to the specific details ofconstruction shown and described herein except as limited by the claimswhich follow.

We claim:

1. In a device of the class described, means for separating straw fromgrain and chaff, a grain cleaning shoe disposed under said strawseparating means and having a width appreciably less than that of saidseparator, a trough for retrough extending transversely of saidseparating means and having a discharge opening substantiallycoextensive with the width of said cleaning shoe for discharging saidgrain and chaff thereto, and a conveyor movable in said trough formoving said grain and chafl. to said opening.

2. In a device of the class described, means for separating straw fromgrain and chaif, a grain cleaning shoe disposed under said strawseparating means and generally parallel thereto, the sides of said shoebeing spaced inwardly from the sides of said separator, a trough forreceiving grain and chaif from said separator, said trough extendingtransversely of said separating means and having a discharge openingsubstantially coextensive with the width of said cleaning shoe fordischarging said grain and chafi thereto, and means in said trough formoving said grain and chafi from opposite ends of said trough t said png.

3. A grain separator and cleaner comprising means for separating strawfrom grain and chat! and including conveying means for moving said grainand chaff to one end of said separating means, a transversely extendingtrough disposed at said end of the separating means for receiving saidgrain and chaff, a grain cleaning shoe disposed under said strawseparator and appreciably narrower than the latter, the sides of saidshoe being spaced inwardly from the sides of said separator, there beinga discharge opening in said 4. The combination'set forth in claim 3,where- I in the means for moving grain and chafl. in said troughcomprises an auger conveyor having oppositely wound flights at oppositeends thereof, respectively.

5. The combination set iorth'in claim 3, wherein the means for movinggrain and chafi in said Y trough comprises an auger conveyor having-oppositely wound flights mounted on a common shaft and extending fromopposite ends thereof,

respectively, the inner ends of said flights over-- lapping each other.

6. A device of the class described comprising, in combination, a strawseparator including an endless flexible ccnveyor upon which straw isdelivered and discharged thereby at one end thereof, said conveyor'beingapertured to allow grain and chaff to fall therethrough, a floor underthe lower lap of the conveyor over which the latter moves to sweep saidgrain and chaif to the other end of said conveyor, a trough extendingtransversely under said other end of the conveyor for receiving saidgrain and chafi and having a'discharg e opening extending along aportion thereof intermediate its ends, a grain cleaning shoe having awidth appreciably less than that of said separator and disposed toreceive-said grain and chaff from the discharge opening of said trough,and an auger conveyor disposed in the trough and adapt-

